Hostess Code for April

Hey stampers! I have a Hostess Code for the remainder of April, if anyone would

like to take advantage of it:

EX2NMXMU

Just hop on to my Online Store (link on the right sidebar) to shop!!!  Your order will be shipped directly to your home!  (If your order is larger than $150 before shipping and tax, do NOT use the code!!)  And remember that retiring items are only available as supplies last!!  

This code will be applicable until Thursday, April 30 at 5pm EST!

Happy Shopping!

TTTC62 Blushing Bride Sympathy

Happy Thursday, peeps!  Phew, it's the last day of the month!!  I love that stamping and creating is a great way to take our minds off things!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge, and here is our grid by Amy:

I chose the diagonal line of pink, twine and layers to create, sadly, a sympathy card for a friend whose granddaughter lost her battle with cancer earlier in the month.  I have seen several cards using one of the borders from the Ornate Layers dies covering the front of a card, creating a lovely pattern, so I thought I would toss my hat in the ring and create a card using some Blushing Bride and Very Vanilla cardstocks:

I cut four of the borders, and I found the easiest way to adhere them is to use some spray adhesive....I got mine at a hardware store, and found a box lid in which to lay my diecuts (upside down, obviously), then sprayed them with the adhesive.  (I take mine outside so I don't get adhesive all over my craft room, LOL!)  I then applied them to the Blushing Bride mat, alternating the pattern...worked like a charm:

For some additional layers, I stamped a sentiment from Flourishing Phrases (sadly retiring) and used one of the little tags from the Trio of Tags dies to cut it out, then layered it on another filigree panel, diecut from the Ornate Layers dies.  I finished it off with some organza flowers that were sponged with a tiny bit of Blushing Bride ink and a swipe of Wink of Stella:

My twine is from a past Paper Pumpkin kit; I wrapped it around the front panel as well as tying it through the two tags.  Hopefully it will bring her some comfort in this difficult time.

I hope you'll play along with our Tic Tac Toe challenge...there are lots of possibilities for some spring creations with our grid!  Share yours with us over at the TTT blog!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Flourishing Phrases
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride
Ink	Blushing Bride
Accessories	Organza Flowers (ret), BB Twine (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Ornate Borders Dies, Ornate Layers Dies, Trio of Tags Dies, Wink of Stella

IB122 Night Night

Happy Thursday, peeps! Hope your week is going by nicely!  After a beautiful day yesterday, we have more RAIN today---what else is new?!  Our Inspired By challenge is up today with this little cute beddy-bye ensemble:

Oh my gosh, how sweet is this?  My mind raced with several different ideas but I finally ended up with this somewhat-Valentine-ish creation:

Not sure, but those two hearts kind of look like eyes, looking at me, LOL!  Anyway, here's the optional sketch that I used as well:

So I started off created a plaid background with Blushing Bride and Riding Hood Red inks, then added a polka dot panel and some diecut hearts.  The pillow on the bed has a little bit of green in it, so I added some flowers and leaves, accented with rhinestones:

I played around with several different sentiments but finally decided on a simple hello, two layers diecut and adhered together:

I think it will make a cheerful "just because" card to send to someone!  I hope you'll play along with our Inspired By challenge this week, and be sure to stop by the blog to see what the other designers created as well!  Thanks for popping in!

The weather is finally getting a little warmer....warm enough to help Wayne with a car wash!

She can come and do mine next!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Distressed Dots Background (ret), Gingham Background (Concord +9th)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Granny Apple Green, Riding Hood Red (ret), Honey DSP (My Mind's Eye)
Ink	Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red (ret)
Accessories	Noble Peacock Rhinestones, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Stitched Be Mine Dies, Love Notes Dies (ret), Heart Punch (ret), Stitched Flowers Dies (My Favorite Things)

TCC134 Beautiful Day

Hey peeps, it's Wednesday, and that means another gorgeous Card Concept challenge!  Julie floors me with the beautiful photo inspirations she comes up with!  This one is good for Mother's Day, or for any special occasion, really:

My mom is gone, so I thought I would use the challenge to make a thank you card, which I always need for my customers, and I thought it would be nice to use some soon-to-be-retiring products for my card today:

My "Classy and Elegant" card features the big floral from Beautiful Day, and I heat embossed it in Copper Embossing Powder, then lightly watercolored it with some Blushing Bride and Soft Seafoam  inks.  I also used the Bouquet Bunch dies to add some accent pieces.  I tucked some Rose Metallic thread behind it as well:

I tried to create a pretty watercolor background with some So Saffron and Petal Pink inks, but it didn't work quite the way I had planned, so I tucked it into my Tin Tile embossing folder at an angle, to give it a little more interest!  I also heat embossed a sentiment from Ornate Thanks on some Petal Pink cardstock diecut with the Stitched Rectangle dies:

and added a couple of sentiments on the inside as well, stamped in Copper (ret) and Petal Pink inks:

My inspiration came from the flowers as well as the copper picture frame and cups....what inspires you?  I hope you'll share your pretty creation at The Card Concept this week as well!  And I am going to enter this at the Always Fun Challenge this week as well, as they are looking for embossing folders!  Thanks for popping in today! 

You know you're tired when you fall asleep with your glasses on!  And check out that blanket!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Make a Difference with Covid-19 Giveback

Hey stampers! I don't have anything stamped to share today, but I thought I'd share this fun digital stamp set that Stampin' Up! is offering!  You get 15 pages of images to download, print and cut out to combine with products you already have! Look at those cute images and sentiments! All proceeds will go to Covid-19 organizations,  so the purchasing option is a little different than normal.  You can click HERE to go to the link for purchasing!  I'm going to get mine today---hopefully I'll get a chance to make something fun real soon!

Praise Team Thanks

Happy Monday, peeps!  I have two cards for you today, and they are both thank you cards to members of our church's praise team!  They have been faithful about sharing their music every Sunday morning for our church's live feed, and I felt compelled to tell them how much I appreciate it!  (Dana is also on the praise team....she got some homemade cupcakes instead of a card, LOL!)  I also have spent some time lately updating the database which lists (almost) all my stamp sets!  My long-time stamping friend/demo Shawn told me recently that she also lists all the sentiments that go with the stamps....quite handy if you're looking for something specific!  But also quite daunting as I have a LOT of stamps!  But anyway, I came across some stamps I totally forgot I had, so I had fun creating with some old friends!

My first card is for the team leader and guitarist; the Less is More challenge is "scribbles, drips or splats"...I just love that description! 

I pulled out Fabulous Four, Epic Celebration and Gorgeous Grunge along with Garden Green and Mint Macaron inks to create his card:

This was pretty straightforward to create, the hardest part was cutting out the guitar, LOL!

The second one is for our organist/pianist.  She is quite an accomplished musician, and I wanted to create something a little more "organic"!!  I stamped a background music stamp in Sahara Sand, then overstamped some images from a long-ago set called Words of Wisdom.  The bird and verse are also from the same set:

I used the colors from the Sunday Stamps challenge:

I colored the bird with Crushed Curry and Crumb Cake inks, and the leaves are Granny Apple Green.

I distressed and sponged the edges of the white panel and mounted in on a Lost Lagoon card base and added some Lost Lagoon ribbon.  And just for fun, I added some Pineapple Punch DSP; it's not "vintage", but somehow, it seems to complement the yellow in the bird!  It felt good to use some of these older stamps!  I love my new ones, but I love the old ones too!  Thanks for popping in today!

Dana got Cassidy a kit to create her own spin art machine!  How cool is that?  She followed the directions and only needed a wee bit of help from mom, and it worked!

Check out those directions---yikes!

It's all wired up, batteries in......

And we have art!

 

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Card One Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Epic Celebration, Gorgeous Grunge, Fabulous Four (all ret)
Card stock & Papers	Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink	Stazon Black, Garden Green, Mint Macaron
Accessories	Mini Dimensionals
Tools	AquaPainter

Card Two Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Words of Wisdom (ret), Aged Sheet Music (Cornish Heritage Farms ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pineapple Punch DSP (ret), Lost Lagoon (ret)
Ink	Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake, Stazon Black
Accessories	Dimensionals, Lost Lagoon Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Aquapainter

PP488 Sketch from Laurie

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Time for another Paper Players challenge, and Laurie is our hostess with an easy, versatile sketch:

I had a gazillion ideas rolling around in my head for this, but finally decided to use the color challenge from Fab Friday:

I stamped my umbrellas from Under My Umbrella on some Pool Party and Bermuda Bay DSPs, then punched them out with the matching punch:

I mounted them on a panel of Grapefruit Grove and added some layers, then accented them with some flowers, colored with inks and a blender pen:

The TGIF challenge this week is to use diecut words, 

so I cut two sets of the words from Well Written, layered and adhered them together, for my sentiment:

When I originally started my project, I had the panels a little too large, so when I cut them down, I saved the outer frame and used it for the inside of my card, stamping a sentiment from the same set inside:

I am going to send this to a TOPS friend who is struggling with being stuck inside....hopefully it will cheer her up!   Now, what will you do with this fun sketch?  I am sure you can come up with a plethora of ideas for it....please stop by the Paper Players blog to see what the others have created, then share yours too!   Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Under My Umbrella
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Brights & Subtles DSP, 2018-2020 In Color DSP (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Blushing Bride, Grapefruit Grove, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay
Accessories	Mini Dimensionals, Striped Bermuda Bay Ribbon, Pearl
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies,  Well Written Dies, Umbrella Builder Punch, Blender Pen

Hello from the Funny Farm

Happy Saturday, peeps!  Hope you're hanging in there with your quarantining/social distancing!  I am praying the end is in sight!  My card today is for a couple of challenges; Always Fun Challenges wants to see farm animals, and Just Add Ink has a sketch:

With four children on a dairy farm, I am sure my mother and father thought our household was definitely a funny farm at times, and when I saw this Unity stamp, I knew I had to have it!  

My original choice of patterned paper was blue, hence the blue cow, sheep and rooster.  I didn't like how it looked, so I opted for another pattern and I like this one much better!  I isolated some of the images, cutting them out partially, then slipping a Stitched Shape square die behind it and cut it out, matting it with a Night of Navy Layering Squares scallop:

I added a couple country-style banners under the image, then stamped the sentiment below:

I haven't quite decided to whom to send this card, but I am sure in light of what's going on in the world now, it will be understood and appreciated!  Thanks for popping in today--be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

Wayne's work, Four Seasons Produce, purchased 2200 boxes of food to donate....it kind of made me tear up to see all these cars waiting for food.  Praying, praying, praying.  "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  Matthew 6:26-27.  Lord, let us pray that you will feed and take care of these needy ones! And help us not to worry!!  Thanks for popping in today---be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Funny Farm (Unity Stamps)
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Naturals White (ret), Very Vanilla, Frontier DSP(Authentique)
Ink	Memento Black, Night of Navy
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Layering Squares Dies

AYSI224 Speedy Floral Wreath

Happy Friday, peeps!!  It's time for another As You See It challenge, and it's the dreaded SPEED STAMPING!  Actually, I like these, they keep me stepping!  You need to be able to complete your card in ten minutes or less!  My time for this card was 9 minutes and 29 seconds....just barely made it!  I wish I had had just a minute more....I'll tell you why in a minute!  So here is our challenge photo:

Pretty!!!  I wanted to use the awesome sketch from FMS, too:

so I knew I wanted to do a wreath and use the colors of the flowers in the photo because they are so springy!  So here it what I came up with:

I diecut a Granny Apple Green gingham "wreath" and backed it with two layers of scrap cardstock, gluing them together.  While the glue dried, I used a Triple Flower Punch to punch out some flowers from Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape and Pineapple Punch....can you believe it, I have barely used that In Color at all, and here I am, using it twice in one week!  I stamped some "sparkles" and a sentiment from Picture Perfect Birthday on the front of my card, then adhered the wreath and began adhering my flowers.  When I had them all arranged, they looked a little blah, but I didn't have enough time to add pearls, as I would normally do, so I colored in some centers with a white gel pen....not the best effect, but this is speed stamping, after all.  I quickly tied a bow with some SAB ribbon from last year and plunked it on with a glue dot...just in the nick of time!

All in all, for less than 10 minutes, I think it's pretty cute!

So do you feel speedy?  Come on, give it a try!  Hop on over to the As You See It blog and give it a go, then share you speedy creation with us!  You might be surprised at what you come up with!  Thanks for popping in today!

My brother brought me some narcissus from Longwood Gardens....they are closed, so they couldn't plant them in the beds.  Such a shame, hopefully they'll be able to open soon!  Meanwhile, I enjoyed them thoroughly!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!